Abstract
The purpose of this study is to find the strategy to handle human excreta properly in rural areas of developing countries. In this study, 85 Ecological Sanitation (EcoSan) toilets, based on an improved version of the Vietnamese Double-Vautlt toilet were introducedin a minority hamlet of Vietnam, which was located at highlands. Using these toilets, feces and urine are collected separately. Urine is used as fertilizer after dilution. Feces are stored in the toilet for a certain period. It is then sanitized by ashes, which raise the pH and make it dry. The sanitized feces are used as fertilizer. After using the toilets about five months, some roofs were damaged by strong wind in highlands and then the design of the roof was modified. Approximately 90% of the people could use the toilet properly through the continuous household guidance although minority people needed much more effort to adopt the usage of the toilet than other ethnic people. Through this project, it was verified that the EcoSan toilet was effective to handle human excreta in the project site. The EcoSant oilet is suggested as a toilet to solve the problems derived from human excreta in rural areas of developing countries.
